Saint-Honore Worldcode Diving Quartz

The French fashion brand Saint-Honore has finally expanded its Worldcode family of affordable watches with a quartz-powered diver. Although the new Saint-Honore Worldcode Diving Quartz (ref. 861202 71DBN) model sports all the necessary attributes of a diver and features different finish to its highly legible dial, the family DNA is clearly here, which is good.

The task of applying the family design language to the new model was, probably, not really difficult since the original Saint-Honore Worldcode Automatic that was revealed a year ago, too, boasts quite a sporty appearance. All they had to do, was to put a nicely looking unidirectional rotating bezel with a painted aluminum inlay, and to make the dial more contrast and more legible.

As you can see, the three Arabic numerals are now even bigger and bolder, as are the stick-shaped hour markers and the hands. All these elements of the dial are generously covered with a luminous substance.

The body of the piece, while retaining the same shape and proportions, has also been increased in size to more prominent 43 millimeters. Gone is the angular crown guard and the setting crown itself was changed for a more elegant job, which is decorated with a stamped Saint-Honore logo.

For some reason, the original ETA 2824 automatic movement was replaced with an unspecified quartz movement, which is, too, made in Switzerland.

To my taste, this is not really a big deal, since the quartz movement will certainly be more accurate than the self-winding ebauche and will also require less maintenance: you will only need to change a battery once in a while.

There are basically two problems with this watch from the view of sheer usability.

The first, of course, is its pretty unimpressive water resistance. Rated for only 100 meters, the watch is only good for snorkeling and skin-diving. You won’t be able to use it for serious underwater exploits. However, if you are simply looking for an inexpensive beater that not only looks great, but can also serve as a recreational watch, you should really consider getting yourself one of these beauties.

The second problem that one may encounter later in the gadget’s life is the way the black rubber band is attached to the Worldcode Diving’s body. Using a proprietary lugs attachment system, the choice of replacement straps seems to be limited exclusively to those offered by Saint-Honore: no third party solutions here, no textile NATO straps, no leather. Some may find this not a problem to consider, but for yours truly it’s sort of a bummer.

According to the company’s press release, so far the watches are available in four colors: black, brown, navy (ref. 861202 71DBN, pictured) and pink gold. Plenty to choose from, indeed.